Reading Diary A: The Beginning of the Ramayana... Again

• So far the opening of Ramayana is quite unexpected. Sita has been exiled out of Ahyoda by Rama while she is pregnant with their twins. Valmiki is summoned out of his meditation to help Sita, or else she will die.

• Valmiki, after being fixated on the death of a songbird, becomes fixated on his verse. Brahma urges him to sing the song of Rama’s story.

•  Valmiki composes the song about Rama and teaches it to his twin sons Kusa and Lava, which ironically intrigue Rama as he wonders who these singers may be.

• The description of Ayodhya is so beautiful. The colorful words really draw a picture of the greatness the capitol truly is.

• The back story as to why Rama and his brothers came to be, as well as their power is so interesting. In order to finally defeat Ravana, Indra must be born into a man and Rama, was his vessel.

• The quote on page 19 is so powerful. “Here I am born again to kill the Evil.”

• “There were not many gods then among different men but only one” The pivotal point of humanity. The corruption of the world came upon man, by their own doing.

•  Ravana tries to end his life for sacrifice, but instead Brahma makes him invincible. This is interesting.

• The battle between Ravana and Manibadra costs thousands of lives and still, there is no victory over Ravana.

• Page 34 “He plans in detail his own ruin and wastes all his strength.”

     So far, the biggest thing that has really grabbed my attention is the detail. Each and every character's story is told with just as much vivid detail and importance as Rama's. The descriptions paint a seamless image in the mind.

A Mask Representation of Ravana found from Flickr